


The Boy in Shining Booty Shorts

by jeanmoneau



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Humor, M/M, Mutual Pining, a lot of ocs btw i'm so sorry, cause a girl loves modern au settings, klance, shiro and allura are there if you squint really hard, that's it basically
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 23:50:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,027
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15302781
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jeanmoneau/pseuds/jeanmoneau
Summary: “I thought your dancing was great. Really great. You’re really talented.”Lance gaped at him as the corners of his mouth quirked up. “You sure it wasn’t just the booty shorts?”Keith shifted his weight from side to side. And he smiled like he didn’t want to. It was unbearably cute. “They were very sparkly.”Lance is a stripper and Keith is a pining, dysfunctional gay. What else is new?





	The Boy in Shining Booty Shorts

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is based off of [this post](https://voltronlegendayspacegays.tumblr.com/post/175599065330/langst-writers-im-looking-at-you-to-take-this-and) from tumblr user [voltronlegendayspacegays](www.voltronlegendayspacegays.tumblr.com)

The way it seemed now, Lance would never get a chance with Keith. Not that he had any in the first place. But, watching the boy’s face contort into something similar to shock, he couldn’t help but imagine it turning into disgust. He stood by the pole, watching and being watched, and had no idea what to do next.

“And that, ladies and gentlemen,” said Chuck, “is why you practice your routine before getting on stage.”

And, yeah, maybe he should’ve done just that. But in the moment, his heart raced faster than the music’s beat and he couldn’t stop staring at the boy that sat in the back with all of his friends.

* * *

[Earlier that day]

The clock said _Not yet_ , but Lance’s heart said _Lunch, lunch lunch_.

“Don’t think you’re all off the hook just yet,” Coran said from the front of the class. “I still haven’t told you all about the Great Light Debate!”

The class groaned and beside him, Hunk sighed. Coran was a tall, lanky, orange-headed old man stuck in the idea that he was still in the prime of his youth. Lance had decided long ago that the physics teacher was like this to everyone he met. Such a wielder of an obscure personality was surely wasted at a high school teaching juniors, but such a survivor of the inevitable aging process was surely welcomed at a high school teaching juniors.

Lance threw Hunk an eye roll. He twirled his imaginary mustache and Hunk mouthed _Good day, governor_. Lance snorted and looked away from his best friend to stare at the clock again. _Not yet_ , it insisted. He huffed out a breath through his nose and let his eyes land on Keith Kogane. It wasn’t the first time he watched Keith in class that day, but by the way time seemed to hate him, he was sure it wasn’t going to be the last. Maybe he felt the attention on him because before Lance could hide himself, Keith tapped his pen twice on the desk and looked over his shoulder. He quirked up an eyebrow and mouthed a question that was completely lost on Lance. So, he pursed his lips and looked away. Hunk’s shoulders shook as he held his laughter to himself.

“And that’s how light was upgraded from an electromagnetic theory to a quantum mechanical theory.” Coran wrote the words on the board with the idea that the students would write them down too. And Lance did.

The rest of the class began to blur into constant hunger and boredom until the clock finally said _Lunch, lunch, lunch_. If Lance believed in any gods, he was sure one of them heard him. He leaned back in his chair and stretched as students walked pass him to meet up with their friends. Hunk gathered up all of his stuff and stood up.

“I think Pidge saved our table again,” he said.

“What did we ever do to deserve such a table saver?” Lance stood up. “Should we wait for—”

“Keith?” Hunk pointed at the empty desk by the door. “He’s already gone.”

Lance slouched forward. “What? Why? When?”

“He left right after class. Yesterday, he said he needed to ask Shiro about tonight’s plans, remember?”

Lance did not remember that, but he nodded anyways. They walked out of the classroom when his phone beeped. Twice. Taking out his phone, he wasn’t surprised to see the name appear, but he was surprised to see it was a direct text to him and not the group chat they had together.

 **cherry xo:** hey lance! i know you’re at school, but whenever you get the chance can you answer me back asap?

 **cherry xo:** so, something came up at the hospital last minute and i’m needed here. i don’t think i’ll be able to make it to the club tonight, so could you please take my shift? i hate having to ask this, i’m sorry for the inconvenience.

Lance looked over at Hunk. He was waving at people as they passed by.

 **Lance:** no prob!! go save lives and leave the boners to me

Almost instantly, Cherry messaged him again.

 **cherry xo:** thank you so, so much! i owe you one xoxo

Lance smiled at his phone and put it back in his pocket. Cherry was one of the kindest people he knew. Together, they worked at the Lion Den, the only strip club in town that lets both men and women work at the same night. It was also the only strip club that didn’t sell alcohol, which meant you had to bring your own if you wanted to drink. It also meant anyone above sixteen was allowed to come in. His boss and his other coworkers knew he wasn’t eighteen, but as long as he had a piece of plastic that said otherwise, no one was going to say anything.

He tapped Hunk’s arm to get his attention. “Hey, bud, something came up, so I can’t make it tonight.”

“What?” Hunk pouted. “But it’s going to be so much fun!”

“Yeah, so much fun,” echoed Pidge.

Without even realizing it, they were already at their table. It was one of the best tables in school. It was directly under a tarp and it was wonderful. Lance sat directly across from his two friends.

“So,” said Pidge, “what’s so much fun?”

“Tonight!” Hunk pointed a finger at Lance. “He says he’s not coming.”

“Hey, what? No!” Pidge shot him a disappointed look. “My team’s supposed to beat your team at laser tag tonight.”

Lance shrugged. “Sorry, guys. Something came up. Sort of a family thing.”

Hunk lowered his finger and tilted his head. “Is it Veronica? Is she okay?”

“It’s not her.” Lance shook his head. “But, hey, look! I’ll join up with you guys some other time, yeah?”

Pidge narrowed their eyes and nodded. “Fine, but we’re going bowling next Friday.”

Lance smiled. “Deal.”

A silence washed over them as they got their lunches out. As expected, Lance had a large Tupperware of rice and shredded chicken with extra skin, of course—just the way he liked it. There was something charming about the way his mother prepared his lunch every morning, and every bite had a dash of love in it. He smiled at his food and took another bite. And another. And another, until the empty space beside him began to annoy him.

“Where’s Keith?” he asked, forcing his food down. “I thought he was just gonna talk to Shiro.”

“He was, but he’s done now.”

Lance jumped in surprise and his heart raced when he saw the familiar black mullet and red jacket take his seat. From his backpack, he pulled out a brown paper bag and slouched forward.

“Keith! You’re alive!” Lance’s face brightened. If he scooted a little closer to the other boy, that was purely a coincidence.

“Sorry, I took so long,” Keith said. He opened up the paper bag and pulled out a sandwich and a water bottle. “Shiro wanted to make sure I actually had lunch today.”

“Ah, sandwiches. The fuel for exhausted teenagers.” Hunk took a bite of his own sandwich. “So, what’d he say about tonight?”

Through a mouthful, Keith said, “He’s up for it. He might be late ‘cause he has to pick up Allura from work, but he’ll be there by eight.”

Pidge coughed and pointed at Lance. “Unfortunately, our boy here won’t be joining us.”

Keith turned his head to look at Lance. His eyebrows were pulled down and his lips were set in a soft pout. If Lance had his way, that pout would be on his.

“What? Why not?”

Lance scratched his temple and looked at a space by Keith’s hand, which was really close to Lance’s on the table. “Something came up with my family.” He looked up and flashed a smile. “I’ll be there for bowling next Friday, though!”

Keith’s lips twitched to the side, but in the end, he gave a short nod. “Next Friday. Okay.”

Lance watched his mouth move with every word when he remembered something from class. “Oh, hey!”

Keith jumped back in surprise at his sudden excitement. “What?”

“What were you trying to tell me in class today? I couldn’t read your li—mouth.”

Keith’s lips turned up into a smirk and Lance’s toes curled. “I was asking you why you were staring at me.”

Lance’s eyes went wide and he could hear his other friends laughing from the other side of the table.

“You were staring at him?” Pidge wheezed out. “That’s so subtle, Lance.”

Lance shot them a scowl and frowned. “Shut it.”

Keith let out a short laugh beside him and he turned his head to see that his smirk turned into a grin. “Don’t worry, I won’t think anything of it.”

Lance opened his mouth but closed it again before looking away. It was just flirting. This was normal to them. So, why was he hesitating on his next words? Finally, he said, “Think of it however you want.”

Keith hummed and Lance thought he could feel that sound in his heart. How dramatic.

The rest of the day dragged on. Classes, classes, and more classes. None of them with Keith. He spent half of his time in his classes wondering what Keith could be doing, and the other half hoping Keith would wonder the same.

Stupid Keith and his stupid lips and his stupid everything. He ruffled his hair and decided to forget Keith for one second. Long enough to decide what routine he was going to do tonight.

The Lion Den was a far bike ride from the school, but he didn’t really mind the distance. The day was warm with a cool breeze that picked up every scent from every corner he turned. Once he left the suburban area of town and made his way into the city, the sidewalks began to become crowded and the cars became more reckless. Fridays were Lance’s favorite days to work and he was happy to open the steel backdoor of the strip club. Instantly, fruity perfumes and hairspray welcomed him like a familiar friend. The Lion Den employed as many employees as they could to be able to remain open 24/7. At this hour in the afternoon, there were six others working and they all brightened up when Lance walked in.

“Oh, baby, what are you doing here?” Kitty ran up to hug him in her costume. Kitty wasn’t actually her name—it’s Nyma—but when they were on shift, it was an unspoken rule to call each other by their performer name.

“I’m taking over Cherry’s shift tonight.” Lance returned the hug and looked her up and down. “Wow, the strap didn’t fall off?”

Kitty winked. “Only because you did so well at fixing it.”

From a chair by the mirrors, Coco smiled at him. “Isn’t Cherry’s shift at—like—nine? What are you doing here so early?”

Lance walked up to her and looked at his face in the mirror before turning around to talk to her. “Just didn’t know what else to do, so I thought I’d do all my homework here and wait.”

“Oh, you’re so productive, Blue,” Romeo called from the stage’s entrance. He wiped off the sweat from his forehead and covered his bare chest with the nearest chair. “I wish I was back in school.”

Lance threw him the nearest shirt and he smiled gratefully. “Trust me, school’s not as great as you remembered it.”

Romeo gasped in mock hurt and placed a hand on his heart. “How old do you think I am?”

Lance smirked and shrugged. “I don’t know, thirty?”

“I’m hurt. Truly hurt.” He put the shirt on and nodded at Lance. “It’s a Friday. No plans with your friends?”

Lance thought about saying he did, but he didn’t want anyone to feel bad that he was there. “Nope. Everyone’s getting ready for exams.”

That wasn’t a complete lie.

Romeo asked more questions, and Lance answered all of them. It went like this until Romeo went home. As the hours passed by, more and more people left to go home and more clocked in for their shifts. Lance did his homework on the couch by the costumes and daydreamed about what his friends could’ve been doing now. When the clock striked eight, he stood up to prepare. He decided to do a routine he hadn’t done in a while. It meant a lot of glitter and a pair of too-tight shorts. And Lance thrived in it.

“Hey, babe,” Nyx said as she entered the dressing room from the stage. She kissed Lance on the cheek. “I’m off to get some free frozen yogurt now.”

Lance beamed. “Free? Where?”

“The frozen yogurt place across the street. Don’t know the name, but they’re giving out free frozen yogurt for high school students.”

“Dang,” Lance smiled. “I hope I get to try it.”

Nyx smiled at him and turned her head to the stage when she heard the announcer talking. “It’s almost your turn.”

Lance gave her a salute. “I’ll do you proud!”

“You’re so cute, Blue.” She waved at him before she left to change back to her normal clothes.

Lance’s favorite thing about his job besides dancing, was the anticipation of getting on that stage. The Lion Den treated its employees with fairness and security and he couldn’t have asked for a better job. On good days, he usually comes home with just over two hundred dollars, and hearing the crowd’s cheer, he decided this was going to be one of those good days.

“Give it up to Lola one more time, ladies and gents,” Chuck, the announcer, called out.

The crowd began to cheer even louder and Lola’s ending music came on as she collected her lockbox from the stage and walk behind the curtains. Once she was out of sight from the crowd, her smile dropped and she let out a sigh. When she saw Lance waiting, she waved off his concerned look and said, “Long day, hun.”

Lance only nodded and held his lockbox tighter to his bare chest. By now, his friends should be at the laser tag place. He really wished he could be there, but he supposed with tonight’s money, he might be able to pay off everyone’s pizzas next Friday.

“I wonder who we have next on the program.” That was Lance’s cue to get on stage.

His coworkers whistled behind him and he gave them a peace sign before strutting out on stage. He cleaned off the pole with a rag and placed his lockbox at the edge of the stage. When “Bang, Bang” by Jessie J came on, he looked out into the crowd and immediately wished he hadn’t. At the very back of the club, lounging on one of the round tables, were his friends. And in the middle of them, was Keith Kogane himself.

“Let’s give it up to the Den’s sweetheart Blue!” The crowd already began to throw him bills from all directions, but Lance was frozen in his spot at the front of the stage.

The way it seemed now, Lance would never get a chance with Keith. Not that he had any in the first place. But, watching the boy’s face contort into something similar to shock, he couldn’t help but imagine it turning into disgust. He stood by the pole, watching and being watched, and he had no idea what to do next.

“And that, ladies and gentlemen,” said Chuck, “is why you practice your routine before getting on stage.”

And, yeah, maybe he should’ve done just that. But in the moment, his heart raced faster than the music’s beat and he couldn’t stop staring at the boy that sat with all his friends. From backstage, his coworkers cheered him on. He decided that if his friends were watching him, he’d better give them a show. No matter how embarrassing he must’ve looked in glitter-y booty shorts.

When the bass dropped again, he jumped to the other side of the stage, letting his body decide where to go and what to do next as the beat kept going, throwing the glitter that he kept in his shorts every few seconds. Most nights, he’d let his mind wander to his assignments or what he’s going to do when he gets home, but tonight was different. Tonight, he had an audience. Every once in a while, he’d turn to look at his friends, but his eyes would always sought out Keith’s. He couldn’t tell what Keith was feeling, but his heart began to speed up from all the dancing instead of the shock of seeing his friends at his work. As the song was close to its end, Lance climbed the pole and hugged it with his legs. It was the move that got him a lot of money and applause. And it only got louder when he slowly slid down the pole, arms extended out. At the last beat, he dropped down to a split and threw the rest of his glitter into the audience. The crowd went wild. He kept his arms out as more people threw him dollar bills. His smile only grew when he started to see twenties on the stage. When he stood up, he realized he hadn’t looked at his friends since he got on the pole. And when he looked at them now, Keith was nowhere to be seen. Lance picked up his lockbox and smiled at the crowd one last time before going back into the changing room.

His coworkers hugged him and he wished the next performer good luck. With the help of Persia, the oldest of the bunch, he was able to get out of his shorts, into his normal clothes, and all of the money safely inside a paper bag. He said his goodbyes to everyone and opened the steel door. His senses shifted as a surprised realization that it was nighttime entered his head. And as if he couldn’t be more on edge, Keith was waiting for him on the other side of the door.

“Hey,” he said, not looking at Lance.

“’Sup,” Lance deadpanned. “So—”

“Sorry,” Keith cut in. “The laser tag place was closed for renovations and Allura suggested this place. Sorry for coming here.”

Lance shook his head and pulled on the straps of his backpack. “You didn’t know.”

Keith watched him, eyebrows pulled together. “I’m still sorry.”

“So, what you’re saying is that you didn’t enjoy the show?” Lance feigned hurt. “That’s offensive to my dancing skills.”

“No. No!” Keith’s eyes went wide, and he took a step towards Lance. “I thought your dancing was great. Really great. You’re really talented.”

Lance gaped at him as the corners of his mouth quirked up. “You sure it wasn’t just the booty shorts?”

Keith shifted his weight from side to side. And he smiled like he didn’t want to. It was unbearably cute. “They were very sparkly.”

“Hmm…” Lance hummed. He liked to flirt. And he liked it even more when he got to flirt with Keith. This was something he knew how to do, and he did it well. He let go of his backpack straps and placed a hand on his hips, nodding to the other boy. “I don’t think I saw you appreciating the shorts enough. You didn’t even give me anything on stage.”

Keith’s mouth fell open slightly as he blinked. The smile remained on his face and under the dark lighting, Lance’s eyes strained to see if Keith’s face was just as red as his. Then, the mullet head was laughing. Actually, that was an understatement. Keith was doubled over, arms wrapped around his stomach. It was loud compared to the buzzing of the neon lights and Lance thought it was the prettiest sound he’d ever heard. If Keith wanted to keep laughing at him right then and there, Lance would’ve stayed and laughed too. After a few moments, he straightened his back and said, “I didn’t think this was how I’d ask you on a date.”

Lance tilted his head. Date? “You didn’t ask me on a—”

“Shit!” Keith laughed again and shook his head. “I think in the time I was laughing, I just imagined myself asking you out and thought it was real.”

Lance huffed out a laugh, but it was more a sound of surprise than anything. “What did you say?”

“What did I say what?”

“What did you say when you imagined me?”

“Don’t say it like that.” Keith rubbed his face and crossed his arms in front of him. “I’ll give you the twenty you deserve at dinner tonight.”

It was Lance’s turn to laugh. He couldn’t see Keith’s expression, but he could hear the annoyance in is voice. “Hey, it sounded better in my head, okay?! Stop laughing at me.”

“Are you serious?” Lance wiped a fake tear from his eyes and let his arms drop beside him. “Just a few minutes ago, I thought, you were laughing at me.”

“I thought we were bonding here, but—”

“No! I mean, yes, we are.” Lance placed his hands on Keith’s shoulders to keep him from moving. Without really thinking about it, he leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. It was warm. “I wasn’t laughing because it was dumb or anything. I was laughing ‘cause you’re so cute. Of course, I wanna go have dinner with you right now if you have nothing else to do. But, wait, where are the others?”

“Oh, that’s right,” Keith said. “Check your phone.”

Lance pulled back a hand to take out his phone and found that he had sixty missed messages—all from the group chat. He let out a laugh as he read some of them.

 **hunky boo:** WOW LANCE!!!!

 **pidge-on:** [attached is a video of Lance climbing the pole] HOLY ON ALL THINGS OHDFAN;SDLKFN

 **pidge-on:** Keith won’t stop staring btw

 **shir-ee-os:** How long have you been hiding this from us? This is incredible!!

 **allura the Boss™:** [attached is a video of Lance’s split] THIS IS LIKE THE BEST THING I’VE EVER SEEN

He scrolled to the very bottom, saving the rest to read when he got home. Towards the end of the messages, everyone seemed to have planned to go somewhere else and let Keith find him on his own. Lance closed his phone and gave the other boy the biggest smile he could muster.

“So,” he started, “that date?”

Keith nodded. “Is there any place you wanted to go—?”

“Frozen yogurt!” Lance coughed. “I mean, I heard they were giving free frozen yogurt across the street for high schoolers.”

Keith’s eyes widened, and he took hold of Lance’s hand to tug him towards the direction of the frozen yogurt place. “I didn’t know that. Let’s go, let’s go.”

“Hey, wait.” Lance pulled Keith back and caught him when he stumbled. “What about that twenty you promised?”

“Oh.” Keith dug into his pocket. “Here, I think I can just give it to you.”

Lance shook his head. “No, if it’s okay, I think I’d just kiss you instead.”

Keith blinked. “Oh.”

Lance’s smile softened to something like understanding. “Only if it’s okay.”

“Mhm.” And then he kissed Lance.

It was full of uncertainty and full of everything they’d ever thought of each other, but never had the guts to say. This wasn’t Lance’s first kiss, but this was the first one he’d ever wished for. And here it was, under the dingy lights of a small strip club. And it was perfect. He didn’t know who pulled away first, but then they were smiling at each other.

“I’ve wanted to do that since this afternoon,” Lance breathed out.

“Really?” Keith huffed out a laugh. “I got you beat ‘cause I’ve been wanting to do that since I met you.”

Lance rolled his eyes and pushed Keith who just gave him a playful smirk. They walked towards the frozen yogurt place. And if Lance’s tummy fluttered when Keith intertwined their hands together, then that was just inevitable.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! All love is appreciated ❤(ˆ‿ˆԅ)


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